At Ichi Japanese BBQ, dining requires 'self-barbecue'

Saturday

Ichi Japanese BBQ is the latest in the cook-your-own-food category of restaurants.

Similar to Korean barbecue and Chinese hot pots, proteins arrive raw at the table, where patrons use tongs or large tweezers to lower their food into a hot skillet or boiling water.

The difference is, Ichi does not marinate its meat, save for the barbecue chicken – it is seasoned after it is cooked, said Tank Z, an employee at the restaurant. Ichi provides a sweet and hot style of barbecue and ponzu sauces.

The menu reads like the offerings of a butcher shop: New York strip, flat iron, Angus filet and beef kalbi. Shrimp, pork, chicken and other items are available a la carte or as part of a combo.

Most individual prices for entrees are $6 to $13; combos are more.

A barbecue grill guide teaches people how long to cook specific items.

Other prepared Japanese and Korean appetizers and full meals are available.

“It’s a fun experience,” Z said. “At the same time, we’re trying to keep the Japanese culture.”

Non-alcoholic drinks are available at Ichi, but the ownership has applied for a liquor license, he said.

Ichi has taken over the former General Tso’s Chinese Restaurant, 5227 Godown Road. Ichi, which opened Sept. 21, offers a clean look of white brick, black tables and modest decorations It seats 72 in booths and at tables.

Alexis Fitzgerald, a server at the restaurant, said she likes the Ichi concept.

“It’s interesting,” Fitzgerald said. “And I like the fact that it’s self-barbecue. In most restaurants, you don’t get to interact with your food like that.”